USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Paterson > Paterson, New Jersey : its advantages for manufacturing and residence: its industries, prominent men, banks, schools, churches, etc. > Part 4
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Banking Institutions.
THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK.
This institution was organized in the early part of 1864. being among the first established in the United States un- der authority of the then National Currency Act. The bank was opened for business in May of that year. with a subscribed capital of $100.000, of which $30,000 was paid in. William Gledhill was elected President and George M. Stimson Cashier. Doubtless the intent of the originators was that the institution, while of a semi-public character and affording all the protection to the public, and advantages within the limits of the National Currency Act, was intended as a private institution. Failing health on the part of Mr. Stimson, the Cashier, and owner of most of the capital stock, coupled with a very limited busi- ness, and no doubt largely influenced by the fact that the institution was personal in its character, induced the direc- tors upon the acceptance of the resignation of Mr. Stimson in July of that year, to Resolve, "That the association go into liquidation, and be closed on and after August 1, 1864." Thus it will be observed that the city of 20,000 inhabitants with its already too limited financial facilities, was about to be deprived of an institution, which though small could prove no less than a misfortune.
At this important moment in the financial history of Pat- · erson Mr. John J. Brown, then a leading merchant of the city, a man of broad experience. discernment and enlight- ened judgment, realizing the loss to the city by the closing of the institution, and further, the material benefits to be
derived by the continuance of the bank upon a basis some- what commensurate with the needs of the community, be- came interested in securing subscriptions to the capital stock of $100,000, which after many discouragements was accomplished and the bank with a somewhat hopeful pros- pect was saved through the personal efforts of Mr. Brown, who at the reorganization in 1864, was unanimously elect- ed President, which office he has continued to fill for now over twenty-six years to the satisfaction of his associates. the stockholders and all who have had occasion to transact business with the institution.
The bank was formally opened to the public September 24, 1864. with the following officers and directors :- John J. Brown, President ; Jonathan S. Christie, Vice-Presi- dent : Edward T. Bell, Cashier. John Cooke, John Rey- nolds, Henry B. Crosby, John N. Terhune, Henry M. Low. John J. Brown, J. S. Christie. Josiah P. Huntoon, John Swinburne, Patrick Curran, Edward C. May, Wil- liam Gledhill and George M. Stimson.
The new institution was particularly fortunate in the se- lection of its cashier. The term fortunate may be permit- ted here. for aside from being known by Mr. Brown, he had not an acquaintance in Paterson. Mr. Edward T. Bell, who was then elected (and except for a few years in which he was engaged in business in New York has been cashier ever since ) was admirably qualified for a position in a bank where the business was, so to speak. to be built up. Although young, having only just passed into man- hood, he had had several years experience in the National
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Bank at Hackettstown. where he became familiar with all the details of bank work, and he came after being first teller in a bank in Jersey City, to the new work with all the en- thusiasm of a young man and more than the usual know !- edge of what was required in such an institution from the employees, as well as in all the varied details of the busi- ness of a bank.
Few institutions in the country can boast of a career of such uniform prosperity and steady growth. The original charter expired by limitation in 1883. During this period of time, (about eighteen years), dividends have been paid to the stockholders exceeding $550,000; State and United States taxes, $300,000; leaving a net surplus of over $100, 000.
The charter was extended in 1883 for 20 years. Divi- denils of io per cent. per annum, free of taxes, have been paid for several years past, the aggregate of which amounts to over $o0,000. It is worthy of note that the institution during its existence of over twenty-six years has uniform- ly paid dividends in January and July of each year.
The capital stock of the bank has been increased as rap- idly as the needs of the community seem to warrant, stand- ing now at $400,000, with a surplus and profit account of $250,000, and a deposit line of from $1,800,000 to $2,000, 000. Its banking building, the most substantial, impos- ing architectural structure in the city, was completed in
1871, at a cost of $140,000, now standing on the books of the bank at $57,000. The banking rooms are large and commodious, being located upon the second floor of the building. The erection of this building has tended to cen- tralize in the immediate vicinity the monetary affairs of the city. In the building are located the Post Office, Western Union Telegraph Company. U. S. Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, Mr. F. K. McCully, German Ameri- can Insurance Company, besides many of the prominent lawyers of the city.
The present Board of Directors is composed of Henry B. Crosby, Alpheus S. Allen, James Booth, W. O. Fay- erweather, John Reynolds, Garret D. Voorhis, John J. Brown, William Barbour, J. W. Cleveland, Garret A. Ilobart, A. W. Rogers, Edward T. Bell. all being gentle- men of character and public spirit, while actively engaged in business.
THE SECOND NATIONAL BANK.
Mr. George M. Stimson and some friends in 1852 or- ganized the Passaic County Bank, under the state laws ; the capital of the institution was $50,000, but in 1863 was increased to $too,o05. In February, 1865, the bank passed into the hands of Mr. James Jackson and a few friends, Mr. Jackson holding most of the stock and being the president of the bank ; David Burnet was cashier for many years and held that position until his death. In
IS71 the bank was reorganized under the National Banking Act and the name of the Passaic County National Bank was assumed. The capital stock was increased to $150,- 000 and the bank was opened for general banking pur- poses, having until that time been virtually a private bank. A number of new directors were elected and the business of the institution soon began to assume considerable pro- portions. On July 1. 1874, Congress passed a special act changing the name of the institution to the Second Na- tional Bank of Paterson and it has since done business under that name. A few years ago it acquired possession by purchase of the building in which it is located. The management of the bank has always been conservative and its semi-annual dividends of four or five per cent. come around with the regularity of the tide. It has a surplus of $75,000 and an ever increasing line of deposits amounting at present to about three-quarters of a million of dollars. Its board of directors is composed of some of the most en- terprising and successful business men of Paterson. Con- fidence in the ability of its directors and officers has placed the bank among the most popular institutions in the city. The following are the officers of the bank : President, James Jackson ; vice president, F. C. Van Dyk ; cashier, James W. Row ; assistant cashier, William D. Blauvelt ; board of directors, James Jackson, F. C. Van Dyk, Peter Doremus, Samuel Nathan, Peter Quackenbush, Charles D. Beckwith, Louis .\. Piaget, J. A. Van Winkle.
THE PATERSON NATIONAL BANK.
The Paterson National Bank started into business on the Ioth of July, 1889, with a capital of $200,000, and although in operation but a short time is already doing a most satisfactory business, its volume of deposits having reached between $550,000 and $700,000. The institution is established for a general banking business, including collections on Paterson and all points in Northern New Jersey. William Strange is President, HI. B. Parke, Vice President and 11. C. Knox, cashier. Mr. Strange is as widely known as the American silk industry, being the head of the great silk manufacturing concern bearing the title of the William Strange Company; Mr. Parke, a native of Paterson, acting head of the new banking institu- tion, is identified with her industries, and is also largely experienced in banking business through his connection for twenty-two years with the National Broadway Bank of New York city. Mr. Knox also possesses eminent fitness for his important and responsible position through his long experience in financial operations in New York city, where he was formerly Assistant National Bank Exam- iner. He is a nephew of Ilon. John Jay Knox, for twenty years United States Comptroller of the Currency. The Board of Directors is composed as follows: Robert Bar-
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bour, President Barbour Flax-Spinning Co. ; John W. Griggs, lawyer; John S. Cooke, President Cooke Loco- motive and Machine Co. ; William Barbour, of the Bar- bour Bros. Co .; F. W. Allen, Samuel J. Watson, of Watson Machine Co. ; Watts Cooke, President Passaic Rolling Mill Co. ; Wm. Strange. Wm. T. Ryle. silk importer; Samuel V. S. Muzzy, Harwood B. Parke. Henry C. Knox. The stock of the institution is well dis- tributed. the shareholders including all classes and all lines of business being represented, which renders the new financial enterprise exceedingly popular in the community.
A handsome building is about completed for occupancy by the bank, and for other purposes, at a central location in Market street. one of the principal business arteries of the city. The building is 46xSo, five stories in height and practically fire-proof, the material being mainly iron. stone and brick. The first floor will be occupied as a banking room and is elegantly fitted up in marble, and communi- cates with a safe deposit vault having accommodation for 600 boxes. The vault is absolutely burglar and fire proof, being furnished with time locks of the latest improved pat- tern and all the best approve I attachments. Safe deposit for silver plate and more bulky articles is furnished in the basement vaults immediately underneath the other, and in connection therewith. The remaining four floors are fitted up in the best manner for occupancy as law offices, etc., the entire building being heated, ventilated, illumin- ated, furnished with elevators and all modern appliances for convenience and comfort.
THE PATERSON SAVINGS INSTITUTION.
In the early part of 1868 public attention was directed through several articles in the Daily Press, to the needs of a savings bank in the city for the accommodation of a large number of our citizens who were compelled at great inconvenience, as well as risk, to seek such facilities at Newark. Jersey City and New York. The people had so long suffered from the absence of these facilities that the beneficent influences of a well organized savings bank, as well as the material benefits to the community, were seem- ingly lost to public view. Doubtless the closing of the Paterson Savings Bank a few years prior to this time had a marked influence in deterring the people from assuming the responsibility of organization and management of an institution of this character. The only financial institu- tions in the city at this time were the First National and the Passaic County National Banks. While these institu- tions were liberal in their management and fulfilling their mission as banks of discount. interest was not paid on de- posits. The need became so pressing for the establish- ment of an institution which should meet a want of the thousands of our citizens, who sought not only a place of safety for their limited means. but interest upon the same,
that application was made to the legislature of the State for a charter, which had been carefully prepared, somewhat out of the usual form for savings banks in providing a guarantee fund as surety for depositors. The act was passed in April, 1859. The capital of $100.000 was sub- scribed by the following persons, who became the first Board of Trustees :-
A. S. Allen, Stephen Allen, John J. Brown. 11. B. Crosby. P. Curran. J. S. Christie, A. Derrom, James Dunn. W. W. Fairbanks, J. P. Huntoon, John Hopper, R. Hamil. E. C. May. John Reynolds, John Swinburne, John N. Terhune and Edward T. Bell ; Robert Hamil was elected president, Andrew Derrom vice-president and Ed- ward T. Bell secretary and treasurer.
The institution was formally opened at 122 Congress (now Market) street, May 1. 1869. For two years busi- ness was continued in this location, the bank being open on Wednesday and Saturday evenings of each week.
The premises 235 Main street (Congress Hall) were leased and occupied May 1. 1871, after which the bank was opened daily and on Saturday evenings. The charter expired by limitation in April, ISSO. The institution had proven not only a great success, but of such incalculable benefit to the people, that the managers unanimously re- solved to apply to the State authorities for an extension of the charter, which was granted for the full period of fifty years from April 2. ISS9.
Mr. Robert Hamil resigned the presidency in 1876, af- ter serving most acceptably for a period of seven years. Mr. John Reynolds who had served the institution in the honorary position as vice president (succeeding Col. Der- rom, ) was unanimously elected to the vacancy. Mr. Rey- nolds was one of the promoters of the bank and from the organization to the present time he has been most inti- mately identified with it, guarding the progress. growth and usefulness with zeal and intelligence.
Mr. Edo I. Merselis was elected secretary and treas- urer in the fall of 1872. succeeding Mr. Bell, who had re- signed. Mr. Merselis entered the bank as general clerk at its organization. He has therefore been continuously in its service for over twenty years. During this time he has by diligence, courtesy and painstaking care, with his thorough and systematic methods, earned for himself an honorable record as a bank officer.
The present officers are :- John Reynolds, president ; Henry B. Crosby, vice president : Edo I. Merselis, secre- tary and treasurer.
The following exhibit of the institution is taken from the official report to the State. January 1, 1820 :-
ASSETS.
LIABILITIES.
Cash . $109,242 46
Dne Depositors, .... $3,558,911.50
U. S. Bonds . 252,000.00
Capital stock ; . . .. . .
80.000.00
Municipal Bonds. ... 1, 193, 934 18
Surplus, .. .. 270,610.40
Bonds & Mortgages 1, 267, 046 28
Temporary Jeans. .. .962,953.16
Interest accrued. .. 38,745.82
Real estate 77,600.00
Furniture and Fixtures 3,000,00
$3,909,521.90
$3,909,521.90
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PATERSON, ILLUSTRATED.
It is now twenty-one years since the institution was or- ganized. During this period, perhaps the most momen- tous in the financial history of any country, "runs" upon the bank of greater or less magnitude have occurred dur- ing times of local excitement, or anxiety, resulting from commercial or financial revulsions. In all cases every de- mand upon the bank has been paid on presentation. It has likewise regularly paid interest to depositors in No- vember and May of each year since its organization, the rates being as follows :
May, 1869, to May, 1877 6 per cent.
May, 1877, to May, 1879 5
May, 1879, to Nov., 1980. 43 Nov., 1880, to May, 1886. 4 May, 1886, and since .33
A more extended idea may be obtained of the benefi- cent influence of the bank from the following exhibit.
Total amount deposited to May 1, 1890 $20,540,000 00
drawn
16,940,000 00
Balance on deposit May 1, 1890. 3,600,000 00
Interest paid depositors
1,050,000 00
Number of open accounts.
13,017 00
Average amount to the credit of each depositor May 1, 1890
276 77
Quite recently the managers purchased a site for a building at the corner of Main and Market streets, known as Congress Hall ; the plot is regarded as the most eligi- ble, as well as the most valuable in the city, it being about sixty feet on Main street and one hundred feet on Market street. The price paid was over $75,000. It is the inten- tion of the managers to commence the construction of a building during the present year. which when completed will enable the institution to enjoy much needed additional accommodations and doubtless it will become the most striking architectural as well as the most elegant building in the city.
The board of managers consist of the following well known citizens :
John Reynolds,
G. A. Hobart,
G. D. Voorhis, Edward T. Bell. John Hopper. E. B. King,
John J. Brown, John H. Reynolds,
John II. Robinson, W. H. Williams,
William L. Williams. A. S. Allen,
Henry B. Crosby, James Atkinson,
Edo I. Merselis.
Land Titles in Passaic County.
By WM. NELSON, Attorney-at-Law and Corresponding Secretary of New Jersey Historical Society.
10-
THE origin of the land titles in any locality, while usually interesting from an historical point of 'view, is of great practical value to the would- be purchaser of real estate, who is often deterred from investing by the discovery of unexpected difficulties in tracing the title to the land desired.
The statutes of New Jersey provide that " no person who now hath, or hereafter may have, any right or title of entry into any lands, tenements, or hereditaments. shall make any entry therein, but within twenty years next after such right or title shall accrue ; and such person shall be barred from any entry afterwards ; provided always, that the time during which the person who hath or shall have such right or title of entry, shall have been under the age of twenty-one years, or insane, shall not be taken or com- puted as part of the said limited period of twenty years." The law further provides that " every real, possessory, an- cestral, mixed or other action, for any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, shall be brought or instituted within twenty years next after the right or title thereto, or cause of such action shall accrue, and not after ; provided always, that the time during which the person who hath, or shall have such right or title, or cause of action, shall have been under the age of twenty-one years, or insane, shall not be taken or computed as part of the said limited period of twenty years." Ilence, twenty years' quiet possession of a tract of land is accepted generally as evidence of perfect title, and very few lawyers or conveyancers ever extend a search beyond that period.
Mortgages on which no interest has been paid for twenty years are presumed to have been paid. Judgments are good only for twenty years, unless the defendant removes from the State, in which case the period of his absence is not included within the twenty years.
As there may be cases where the statute of limitations does not run, as in the cases of minor heirs, absent defend- ants, and others, the law goes further to protect the title of the occupant of lands, and provides " that sixty years' act-
ual possession of any lands, tenements, or other real estate, uninterruptedly continued by occupancy, descent, convey- ance or otherwise, in whatever way or manner such pos- session might have commenced, or have been continued, shall vest a full and complete right and title in every actual possessor or occupier of such lands, tenements, or other real estate, and shall be a good and sufficient bar to all claims that may be made, or actions commenced by any person or persons whatever, for the recovery of any such lands, tenements, or other real estate."
The title to all lands in the State of New Jersey is de- rived ultimately from King Charles Il. of England, who by royal patent, dated March 12. 1664, conveyed New Jersey. New York and New England to his brother, James. Duke of York, afterwards King James II. of Eng- land. By deeds of lease and release, dated June 23-4. 1664, James, Duke of York, conveyed the territory now known as New Jersey to John. Lord Berkeley, and Sir George Carteret. Berkeley and Carteret divided New Jersey between them, Berkeley taking the southern or western half. and Carteret the northern or eastern half. In 1673 the Dutch captured New York and New Jersey. which they surrendered in 1674, and as the title to the con- quered soil was thereby considered to have reverted to the King. Charles HI. gave another grant to the Duke of York for New Jersey and other territory, dated June 29, 1674, and the Duke in turn gave a new grant to Carteret for East New Jersey, by lease and release dated July 28-9. 1674. Carteret dying in 16So, left East Jersey to Trus- tees, to be sold for the benefit of his creditors. and the ter- ritory was put up at auction in London and sold for £3,400, to William Penn and eleven associates, the lease and release being dated February 1-2. 1682. The new purchasers immediately associated with themselves twelve others, and the better to confirm their title James, Duke of York, by patent dated March 14, 1683. gave a new grant to the Twenty-four Proprietors. It is from this Board of East Jersey Proprietors that all titles to the soil
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of New Jersey-except for lands under tidewater-are traced.
The first conveyance of land in Passaic County was made in 1678, by Sir George Carteret, to Christopher Hoogland, of Staten Island. It was for two tracts of land, 278 acres in all, in what is now known as the Dundee sec- tion of the city of Passaic. Iloogland sold the next year to Hartman Vreeland, and the land remained in an almost unbroken tract in the possession of his descendants until about the year 1830, when the Dundee Manufacturing Company bought most of it, and erected cotton mills on it. In 1872 the name of the Company was changed to "The Dundee Water Power and Land Company," and the corporation began to push the sale of its lands for mill-sites and for residences. Substantially all titles to land in the Dundee section of Passaic are now traced only to this Company, its title having been thoroughly established by frequent searches.
All the rest of the land in Passaic City, in Acquackanonk township and in all of the city of Paterson south of the Passaic river, except a small strip in the extreme western edge of the city, was conveyed in 1685 by the Board of East Jersey Proprietors to fourteen Dutch settlers, mostly from Bergen and New Amsterdam. In Passaic City, most of this land remained in the possession of the descendants of the original patentees until about the year 1862, when much of it was put on the market. Practically all the land in Passaic city has its title so thoroughly and so frequently searched that it is not considered necessary to go back more than twenty years to trace its origin.
In the township of Acquackanonk-the Indian name of the territory patented in 1685-most of the land has re- mained in the possession of the original patentees and their descendants until within twenty or thirty years, and its title is easily traced.
That part of Paterson south of the Passaic river and east of the ridge broken through by the Passaic Falls, was di- vided about the year 1714 into twenty-eight farms of 74 mogen (about 150 acres) each, and with few exceptions these farms remained in the possession of the original owners to whom they had been allotted, until 1792. In that year the Society for Establishing Useful Manufac- tures, incorporated by the New Jersey Legislature in the year 1791, to found a great manufacturing emporium, bought 760 acres of land at and below the Passaic Falls. The Society retained nearly all of this land, until about the year 1835, and still owns extensive tracts in the city of Paterson. Nobody thinks it necessary to go back of the Society's title, and this fact greatly simplifies searching in Paterson.
The tract known as Riverside remained in the possess- ion of the descendants of the original patentee until 1865, when 300 acres passed into the hands of the Riverside Land Improvement Company, which developed the prop- erty and put it on the market, with such success that the Company has not owned an acre of land there for years, and the tract has been built up with extensive mills de-
voted to various industries. No search of title for this tract need go back of the Riverside Land Improvement Company.
The greater part of the city of Paterson lying east of East Eighteenth street, and extending to East Forty-second street and the Passaic river. remained in farm lands until about the year 1865, and the title was principally in the de- scendants of the original patentees, or in their immediate grantees.
The title to nearly all the land in the present Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Wards of Paterson is traced to the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures. In the year 1828 Robert Carrick, a shrewd Scotch cotton manu facturer, bought from one of the original families, a large tract in the present Fifth Ward, and had it mapped out into lots, which were sold according to his map, during the ensuing forty years. Ilis title is considered the found- ation for all searches in that section. In the year 1816 the Society U. M. conveyed to the State of New Jersey exten- sive tracts of land in the Third, Fourth and Fifth Wards, which were sold by the State subsequent to 1835, accord- ing to maps prepared for the purpose.
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